What is Sextortion?
A form of blackmail where criminals threaten to share intimate images, videos, or sexual information about a victim unless they pay money, provide more explicit content, or comply with other demands. It affects adults and minors and is one of the fastest-growing cybercrimes.
Also known as: Sexual Extortion, Webcam Blackmail, Intimate Image Threats
Sextortion is one of the fastest-growing cybercrimes and one of the most psychologically devastating. The FBI reports a sharp increase in cases targeting minors, with tragic outcomes including suicides.
Types of Sextortion
Email Sextortion (Mass Scam)
- Criminals send bulk emails claiming they've hacked your webcam and recorded you
- Include an old password from a data breach to seem credible
- Demand Bitcoin payment to not release (non-existent) footage
- This is almost always a bluff — they have no footage
Relationship-Based Sextortion
- Criminal builds a romantic relationship online (often through dating apps)
- Convinces victim to share intimate images or video
- Then threatens to share the content with the victim's family, friends, or employer unless they pay
Minor-Targeted Sextortion
- Predators pose as peers on social media (Instagram, Snapchat, gaming platforms)
- Manipulate minors into sharing explicit images
- Then demand money, more images, or sexual acts
- The FBI calls this an "exploding threat" — cases increased 300%+ between 2021-2023
AI-Generated Sextortion
- Criminals use AI deepfake tools to create fake explicit images from social media photos
- No real intimate images need to exist — the threat is fabricated entirely
- Increasingly targeting teenagers using publicly available photos
What to Do If Targeted
- Do NOT pay — Payment leads to more demands, not resolution
- Do NOT delete evidence — Save screenshots of all threats, messages, and profiles
- Stop all communication with the extortionist
- Report to law enforcement — FBI (IC3.gov), local police, and the platform
- Report to the platform — Instagram, Snapchat, etc. will remove accounts
- For minors: Contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) or CyberTipline
- Get support — Contact the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI) hotline
Prevention
- Be extremely cautious with intimate content — once shared, you lose control
- Verify who you're talking to — video call before sharing anything personal
- Cover webcams when not in use
- Use strong, unique passwords — prevent email sextortion scams from having real passwords to cite
- Monitor minors' online activity — have open conversations about these threats
- Limit public social media photos — AI tools only need a few photos to create deepfakes
Related Terms
Data Breach
A security incident where protected, sensitive, or confidential data is accessed, stolen, or exposed by unauthorized individuals. Data breaches can result from hacking, insider threats, lost devices, or misconfigured systems.
Identity Theft
The fraudulent use of someone's personal information — such as Social Security number, credit card details, or login credentials — to commit crimes or financial fraud.
Online Stalking
The use of the internet and digital technology to monitor, harass, or intimidate a specific person, often escalating from online behavior to real-world threats.
Phishing
A social engineering attack where attackers impersonate legitimate entities through fake emails, websites, or messages to trick victims into revealing sensitive information like passwords, credit card numbers, or personal data.
Social Engineering
Psychological manipulation techniques used to trick people into revealing confidential information or performing actions that compromise security. Social engineering exploits human trust rather than technical vulnerabilities.
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